Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades
by Planetgirl
Summary: Even though Percy and Annabeth have fallen into Tartarus, things still must go on. The five and Nico must continue their quest - and finally close the Doors of Death. But with a new prophecy, no idea what to do next, and endless horrors in the Underworld, will the story have a happy ending? All rights go to Rick Riordan. Last chapter is unfinished.
1. Chapter 1: Nico

**Nico had survived being trapped in a jar with 8 pomegranate seeds. **He'd survived losing his sister. He'd even lived through Tartarus. But one thing he wasn't going to survive was Leo's giant fire-breathing dragon head.

Even though Leo had said he was 'fixing its motor system', Nico couldn't see how. All Leo was doing, it seemed, was poking it with a stick. Plus every time Happy the Dragon creaked, he jumped. Right now, he was dodging the flames that came from its mouth. They'd laughed at him for being terrified of a fake dragon (although Leo would kill anyone who called it fake) and not of normal things, such as the Furies.

Whatever. He was the son of the god of the dead. And besides, how was it normal to be scared of Furies?

They had been stuck, hovering over the Mediterranean for days. The ship had broken down, and this time they didn't have the lime, tar and celestial bronze to fix it. Frank had been sent (as a large bird) along with Hazel (or Miss Metal Detector, as Leo called her) to search for the bronze that morning. And Jason and Piper still hadn't returned from their quest for the lime and tar, despite having been sent since this morning. He wasn't worried, though. No, he had much more important things to worry about.

Like the fact that Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus.

Just hearing the word made him feel sick and dizzy, like he'd been hanging upside down. Nico shook his head, trying not to think about it. He was supposed to be reading Archimedes' scrolls anyway (although he wondered why Leo trusted him on this job).

The strains of Coach Gleeson's TV show floated into his ears. He was watching a blockbuster, he realized. Nico wondered why, after all they'd been through, he could still do that. In the last couple of years, he'd gotten frustrated watching those. Their problems were so simple, so easily solved…well, compared to his, they were. In the movies, they all knew everything was going to go well; they were going to save the day. On this quest, part of the seven now that two had disappeared, he always felt that his life was on the line. And it was.

A loud crash suddenly brought him back to the present. Frank and Hazel landed on the deck, Hazel carrying a long, rusty celestial bronze sword and shield. Leo ran over to intercept them, as Frank turned human again and ended up being hit on the back of his head with Frank's bow. Nico caught Leo shooting Frank a dirty look, like, _man, was that on purpose?_

"Nico, get under!" cried Hazel. "They're coming!"

Nico appeared confused. "What? No way. I'm not just going to go to take a nap while you guys battle monsters!" Jeez, what did they think he was, some kind of invalid?

All right, he had been, until today, really. But seriously, if he left them now, it would be really selfish. They were all in this together.

In the distance, he could see - were those Sirens?- flying towards them. They cawed, sounding more menacing than melodic, like they were supposed to be. Their ugly faces were carved into expressions of anger.

'What are they doing here?" Leo said, sounding panicky. The Sirens never left their island, as far as he knew. Their job was to sit and sing, luring sailors into their arms.

"I don't know!" said Hazel. "We were flying over the Mediterranean, and I sensed some celestial bronze, I guess from some shipwreck ages ago. Then – Frank saw them. The Sirens, I mean."

"You can give us the story later! Leo, have you got any wax?" Nico interrupted, over the din of the cawing Sirens. Leo shook his head in reply.

"Don't worry! They're not going to sing!" Frank said, getting into stance. "I don't know why, but it's like they've been ordered not to or something. Their job is to capture us without killing us, I think."

They were closer now. Nico drew his blade to Stygian iron, his face turning hard.

He knew Percy and Annabeth had survived these things on their quest to get the Golden Fleece. He hadn't been there, but others had told him about it, how they were two of the few heroes that actually (somewhat) defeated the Sirens. But that wasn't going to help now, since the only way they escaped the spell was going underwater where the sound didn't travel as well.

There were 3 of them, Pisinoe, Aglaope and Thelxiepy. Nico knew them well because they'd been turned into these horrible creatures by Demeter when they'd failed to save Persephone, his stepmother. Before that, they had been her handmaidens.

The realization dawned on him. Was it possible they were working for Gaia, now? It was very possible, considering they hated Demeter. And why else would they not sing or leave their island?

_Oh, son of Hades, my pawn. That's right. They're working for me. They may have failed in their job before, but now, their need for revenge is stronger. They'll bring you to me, my dear sacrifice. The two of you._

The voice was so sudden Nico whirled round, expecting her to appear. He could imagine the large, sleepy face, with that tiny smile of hers. Of course, there was no one. They were floating, after all. This wasn't Gaia's territory.

Before he could try to think of what she meant, the Sirens descended on them.

The four of them went into fighting mode. Leo lit his hand on fire, careful not to touch Frank or Hazel, and burnt one of the Siren's wings. Nico started slashing at every part of it, and willed it to die (although this never helped). Hazel tried to stab them with her cavalry sword, and Frank turned into a grizzly (again. He'd done this before, although Nico hadn't been present. Hazel had told him about it, though.) One of the bird's claws missed Nico's face by an inch. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Coach Gleeson hadn't arrived, brandishing his club and yelling, "Die, bird scum!" And where was Festus's fire-breathing ability when they needed it?

"Hey, Birdbrain! Didn't you drown yourself when you couldn't kill Odysseus? What are you doing here alive?" shouted Leo, trying to distract them (that was usually Percy's job, Nico thought).

The largest Siren snarled (which sounded rather weird coming from a bird). "Don't you know, foolish boy? We are monsters, and we came back. And now, we fight for the Earth Mother! We unite, all the haters, the giants, and prepare to overcome the Olympians! You, with your silly games, will never stand a chance!"

Nico ducked another talon, and aimed for the bird's neck as it swooped down to attack Hazel. "We're friends with Percy and Annabeth!" called Frank, in an attempt to scare them. "Don't you know them? They escaped you 4 years ago. Well, they're coming now, to help us!"

The other one, attacking Leo, laughed. "Your friends? Oh, we know them well. They're stuck in Tartarus, fighting for their lives at the moment. They'll never live, and become Gaia's sacrifices!"

Nico's heart lurched. Not Percy and Annabeth. Not them. It couldn't be them. They had saved him and…and Bianca, all those years ago. Percy had saved him just last week. He couldn't let them die.

Taking advantage of how Nico seemed distracted, the bird made a large gash in his arm. Blood started pouring out. Nico returned it by stabbing the side of the Siren. After it hit him over with its wing, he thought the fight had gone on too long. Summoning all of his energy, he cut its head off cleanly. It crumbled to dust. At the same time, Leo burnt the last part of the bird he'd been trying to kill. Now, the largest one looked scared. Nico knew what would happen before it did.

"Cover your ears!" he yelled, warning them. It didn't help.

Hazel crumpled to the ground and shut her eyes, putting her hands over her ears. Frank turned into a cobra. Leo lit himself on fire as a defense.

It started to sing.


	2. Chapter 2: Nico

**Hi guys! Hope you're enjoying the story. Some facts might be wrong, especially the Greek/Roman mythology part. Thank you so much for the reviews (kittykruger and JLgods01)!**

**It's music was so powerful,** so beautiful, that all Nico wanted to do was stand there and listen. The boat and his friends started to fade, and he willingly let it. A small part of his mind tried to change his mind, but it was nothing against the melodies of the Siren.He was sucked into a memory.

It was a very old memory, way back when he was a little kid and wasn't aware he was a half-blood, before he had been sent to the Lotus Casino. It was even before he had lost his mother. He saw her face, and his chubby arm reached up to touch it. She was telling him a story. He remembered this clearly.

"Once upon a time, there were two little brothers and sisters. They didn't think they would be able to make a difference in this world, since they were so small. But their mother always said, "It doesn't matter how big you are. You can always make a difference." But they didn't listen.

One day, while the little brother and sister were playing together in the vegetable garden, a man marched in and took their mother away. He said"-

"Why did they take her away, Ma?" Bianca asked, her voice sweet and clear, although there was some worry in it for the little family in the story.

"I was about to get to that part, Bianca. Listen."

"He said…"

Her voice soothed Nico, and he wished he could go back to that time, when he was so free from all his worries; his simple mind protected by his mother, his sister. Now, neither of them was here for him. He was alone, with no one that truly cared.

As if it had heard him, the Siren replied_. If you surrender, boy, _it whispered, her breath tickling his cheek, _this, all of this will come true._

In a moment, he lost himself in it, his wish overwhelming him. It could all be real. He stepped towards the Siren.

A wail suddenly cut through the song, so horrible, that Nico snapped out of it for a second. But a second was all he needed.

He saw all his friends, walking towards the Siren like they were in some kind of trance. But it wasn't the ugly Siren he'd seen before. It was his mom, telling the story.

He took another step towards the Siren, and it smiled invitingly. Nico blinked.

No. No, he was _not_ going to listen. He was going to kill the Siren. He was going to kill it. Kill it, he repeated, trying to drown out the song. The image of the ship kept flickering back to his mother's face. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

His hand hovered over his sword, trying to pick it up, but a force kept him from doing so. His hand shook uncontrollably.

The Siren suddenly grinned, and knocked Hazel out, brushing her aside with its wing and making her head hit the ground as she fell over. Someone let out another wail, seeing this.

Hearing it, Nico grabbed the sword, ran over, and…

How could he? How could he kill his mother?

She smiled, again. But something was off in her smile. It wasn't hers. And in his mother's eyes, instead of love, it was hate. The true face of the Siren showed.

Nico stabbed it right between its eyes. It dissolved, and he collapsed, crying.

…

Hours later, when they'd all recovered, they were still thanking him.

"How did you do it? I…I was stuck, Nico. I thought it was real. How did you ever do that? That was impossible. No one ever did it before, in the history of ever," said Frank.

His voice was shaky. "It wasn't all me. There was this wail that made me stop listening to it."

"A wail?" asked Hazel. "What are you talking about?"

Nico shrugged. "Maybe it was Festus?" he suggested.

"It couldn't have been," frowned Leo. "I took out his control disk."

"Well, whatever. At least we're alive," said Frank.

Coach Gleeson suddenly came, running into the room. "What did I miss?" He sniffed the air suspiciously. "You killed a monster! Why didn't you call me? I always miss the violent stuff!" The old satyr stamped his foot imperiously like a little kid. Nico almost laughed, despite their situation.

Frank stared. "You were here? I thought you went somewhere! How did you not notice three Sirens on your own ship?"

"You killed the Sirens? How did you manage to do that?"

"It was all Nico," said Hazel proudly.

"Hey!" Leo protested. "I killed one!"

Frank rolled his eyes, and Leo glared at him. Nico tried not to laugh. He felt like the big brother watching his friends fight over his little sister. Which he was, Nico supposed. It was weird that despite everything, there was still time to do normal things like this.

"Anyway," he said, breaking up the silent eye-fight, "how did you even meet the Sirens in the first place?"

"It was Hazel's fault," Frank complained. "She sensed some celestial bronze, the old sword and shield – I suppose some weapons of the people who died sailing past the Sirens under the sea near the island – and told me to leave her on land and turn into a seal to get them. I did, but when I came up the Sirens were attacking Hazel, so I was like, let's get out of here!"

"How is it my fault?" asked Hazel, but she was laughing. "There wasn't any celestial bronze anywhere else."

"But I guess it was okay in the end," continued Frank.

The group relapsed into silence, thinking about what had happened.

"By the way, Coach," said Hazel, "I know you didn't hear the Sirens, but did you by any chance hear this," she glanced at Nico, "wailing noise?"

The coach shrugged. "My room is soundproofed and I was watching a movie."

"Wow. The new trick to surviving Sirens: get your ship soundproofed and watch a Chuck Norris movie with the sound up," said Leo, with a completely deadpan face.

They all cracked up.

As the rest of them carried on talking, Nico thought back to the fight. He remembered thinking about why Coach Hedge hadn't gone to help them, but he had been distracted.

He also remembered the memory the Siren had given him. It had made him realize how his life could have been if he hadn't been the son of the god of the dead. Simple. Easy. The saying he once heard Chiron say, something to do with ignorance being blissful? Yeah, it was true.

Nico shivered as he thought back to the words of the Siren, whispered into his ear. _If you surrender, all of this will come true. _He almost did. He had almost, almost fallen into its hands. What would happen, he wondered, if that wail hadn't saved him? Listening to one of those songs, he realized, was the equivalent of falling into Tartarus. No one ever escaped.

Except he, Nico di Angelo, had. And he had to believe Percy and Annabeth would, too. They had escaped the Sirens. That meant that they could escape Tartarus, like he did. And if the wail saved them, they could escape.

Nico knew what he was going to do next. He was going to be the wail that saved them. Then they would live.

And for now, that was one bit of hope that he could cling onto.


	3. Chapter 3: Nico

**Thanks Bakerella, Tyrant of Shadows, Guest, Perfect-Skye, pipermclean-beautyqueen, Percabeth12, Meghan, nargles lurk in the mistletoe and FightTillTheLastBreath for the reviews!**

**Jason and Piper had come back – with bad news.**

"There's nothing within at least a thousand miles all around apart from that Siren island that those two saw," complained Piper, looking haggard from her flight. And there really was nothing, Jason had confirmed. Literally nothing, apart from ocean, rocks and marine animals. Great help, wasn't it? Meanwhile, Leo had reported the Argo II was not going to be able to move for at least 5 days (how he knew this, Nico didn't know. And he hadn't asked, either, because the last time he did Leo had gone on about how the steam room had blah blah blah mechanical problems blah engineering. Or something like that).

Nico wished Percy was with them. He could make something out of the endless, vast amounts of water around them.

He turned his skull ring round his finger as he watched the sun set. At that moment, he felt an eerie sense of calm. Why it was there, he didn't know. There was so much to worry about; Percy and Annabeth, Gaia, the whole _quest _was built from worries, for gods' sake. But for a second, he felt sure everything was going to turn out right. They were _the _people who could stop Gaia. Nico had never liked Hera or Juno (he wasn't sure if _anybody_ did), but he felt reassured that she had, at least a little bit, thought they had the power to save, well, the world. However much of a cliché it sounded, Nico believed that everything would turn out all right in the end.

The last bit of the sun disappeared, sinking into the sea, and with it went Nico's sense of reassurance. Because after all, didn't gods routinely kill heroes for no reason? It was like one of their hobbies, or something. And how exactly _was_ everything going to turn out right? They had no plan, no anything. Gaia, on the other hand, had a whole army ready to go on her command. The only thing that was stopping her, Nico knew, was how no one had died to wake her up. And in the meantime, what was their army doing? Oh, yeah. Weren't they fighting each other to death or something?

The sky turned dark, and Nico sighed. Night. He'd always dreaded this time, when he had to sleep. With sleep came nightmares. He knew this was a regular thing all demigods were cursed with, but it always seemed his were especially potent. They'd given him the best news he'd ever had, but they had also given him the worst news he ever experienced. Nico had always hated them, however many times they'd given him hope or even saved his life.

Since he'd gotten trapped in that bronze jar, sleep had been even harder for him than before. It reminded him too much of the death trance he'd put himself in so he could survive. He'd often woken up in the middle of the night, and been too afraid to go back to sleep again.

He sometimes – no, always - wished he could go back to being the little kid again; playing with Mythomagic cards (that seemed so long ago) and asking stupid questions that he never knew always annoyed everyone else. It had been a lot better then.

His thoughts were interrupted when Hazel spoke up. "We should get inside."

Nico nodded, and they headed into the dining room.

…...

The atmosphere was uneasy with the two –well, the two leaders, really - missing. Nico saw Hazel look up and start to say something a few times, but going silent when she realized whoever she wanted to talk to wasn't there. Also, Nico was positive Hazel hadn't wanted to eat precious metals for dinner.

Finally, Leo broke the silence. "Where do you think they are?"

Hazel looked up, finally having someone to talk to. Before she could utter a word, however, Nico stopped her. "Falling into Tartarus," he said, shortly. "What do you think?"

"I know, I just…" Leo looked slightly taken aback. Piper glared at him for making the situation worse. Oh, well. Another one of the people who would think he was inconsiderate, rude, blah-di-dah.

Alright, maybe he was being over-dramatic. But what did he have to be happy about? Even if his sister came back from the dead (this wasn't even the correct word anyway, since she'd already _gone on_), it wouldn't make everything fine. No, he'd just start worrying about Thanatos being chained up, people returning from the dead, his father getting weaker and more people for Gaia's army. Oh, the list was endless.

His mind returned to the conversation. "…go to Epirus as quickly as possible," Jason was saying.

No, they had to be quicker than possible. Falling into Tartarus took 9 days, and they'd already wasted 3 of them, including today. Percy and Annabeth would take some time to get to the Doors of Death, but they had to be there before those two did. After all, in the few days they could be waiting for them, death might have come to get them.

Except they would already be there.

The words sent a shudder through him.

"How are we going to get there?" asked Frank. "This ship _is_ broken, you know."

The rest of the table echoed his words, agreeing. How would they? In less than a week, and with the ship in such bad condition, their chances of getting to Epirus even any time near 6 days was almost impossible. They _were_ 'a thousand miles' from anything.

The conversation turned to their cryptic dreams and the messages Piper's _Katoptris_ had been trying to get through. According to Piper, it had been showing a dark place, which they all agreed was Tartarus…technically. Except…what would _Piper_, of all the people in the quest, be doing there? No offence to her, but Nico could not see that girl in the Underworld, let alone Tartarus. Not because she was a daughter of Aphrodite, but he just couldn't…OK?

"Are you feeling alright?" Leo, who had been sitting beside Hazel, asked suddenly. "You've been quiet the whole time. And you look like you're about to say something, but you never do."

She looked up, startled. "I - um, nothing. I was just thinking about a dream I had," she said, quickly. "I was with my father and he…" Hazel paused again, as if weighing out the correct words. "He said something about sacrifices," she said finally.

When Hazel said the word, he suddenly remembered what _he'd_ heard in one of his dreams and what the others had told him.

Sacrifices. Sacrifices to wake Gaia.

He knew he'd been intended as a sacrifice to Gaia as well. How else would he have survived Tartarus? They hadn't been trying to kill him. And neither had the Sirens, he knew. All of them had just been trying to capture them, to take them to the Earth Mother.

"Everyone knows, right?" Nico spoke up. "I mean, that they're not going to kill us yet."

"Yes," said Jason, his face serious. "And I think we all know as well why Gaia specially wanted Percy and Annabeth."

Yes, that was true. She had. But him…would it be possible Gaia wouldn't want him? It was strange to be worrying about someone not wanting them as a sacrifice, but still. Gaia wouldn't want him. He was the son of the Hades. The ghost king, the dead called him. Was that really a good sacrifice? Plus, as far as he knew, Gaia wanted couples. She wanted Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Hazel and Frank. Why this was, he wasn't sure. But he had some idea.

But no. He wasn't going to go there. It couldn't be. To manipulate them like that…no way.

Then again, this was Gaia.

No, no, no. He shook his head, and he thought he felt the life aura of Percy and Annabeth dull, as if they'd gotten deeper in Tartarus. But it couldn't have been. When they were so far away, he couldn't sense these things.

Right?

He saw everyone looking at him worriedly, with expressions of nervousness on their faces. They were waiting for his advice as the son of Hades.

"Percy's fatal flaw isn't fatal for nothing," he said, his voice quiet.

This was not coming together in a good way. Nico felt like he'd finally solved a puzzle in a competition, only to be told that his prize was a pool of vomit.

Leo looked confused. "But why…oh."

"We've got to really get going." There was a level of urgency in Nico's voice.

"But guys…won't Percy and Annabeth buy us some time? I mean, if they're in a condition good enough to fight, Gaia won't want them yet, right?" Leo pointed out.

"Annabeth's got a broken ankle," said Piper. "That isn't really my definition of a 'condition good enough to fight.'"

They all went so quiet you could hear the ship's mechanical hum. And Leo had made it specially so no one would hear it.

"Well," said Hazel, standing up. 'We've got no time to waste then. Leo, raise the sails. The ship's going to move without the lime and tar, no matter what."

Her eyes glittered, and for the first time Nico didn't see her as his half-sister, but as a leader of a quest.


	4. Chapter 4: Nico

**Thanks everybody for reviewing (Saphire, BarrelRacer13, wanchat, leo, Guest, Pandaface87 and Guest)/ favouriting/ following!**

**Nico felt like he was about to fall asleep, **this time it was actually Hazel's fault. She had insisted on everybody staying up, since it was too risky to start their rescue mission straight away, so they could try to figure out how to make the ship work again. That morning Leo had finally gotten it to start moving (how did that guy do it? Nico himself could barely_ think_).

Most of their crew had been feeling the same way. Frank had even stood up to Hazel on the no-sleeping thing, but no avail. ("The lives of our friends are in danger, you know!") To make it even worse, he'd received the silent treatment from Hazel, much to Nico's amusement. It reminded him of the time Percy had been washed up onto Calypso's island and come back to camp while they were burning his shroud. Back then, it was rumoured Annabeth had slapped his face. Good times.

He never thought he would want sleep this much, not after what he'd been through. But, back with his old job of reading through Archimedes' scrolls, since they didn't trust him with anything else (he'd leaned on a lever Leo claimed had made the ship break down in the first place), his eyelids began to close.

Before he knew it, sleep settled over him like a blanket. And he dreamed.

…

No, more like he nightmared, if there was such a word. It seemed the second he fell asleep, he was transported into another place. Dark, and black. It seemed like there was nothing there, apart from a slight pull downwards. No wind, no light, nothing he could feel. But Nico felt a sense of familiarity and knew that this was the way to Tartarus. He turned around, realizing Percy and Annabeth could be there, but of course, he couldn't see.

_Nine days_, a voice reminded him.

Time seemed to go backwards. He was in the depths of the terrible place again, the place he had been falling towards just a second ago. His sense sharpened, and the horribly familiar stench reached his nose. Nico drew his sword and started to fight crazily, not really knowing what he was doing but letting an animal-like sense of survival lead him. He felt a giant hand, about to suffocate him, and was glad that none of this was real. Closing his eyes, he still felt the pain even though it was just something his unconsciousness had been thinking about. (Or so the teacher had said, back when he actually went to school. He wasn't sure if this applied to demigod's dreams).

Nico wished he could do something about it, as it felt like it was crushing his bones to bits, but even in his nightmare he was powerless, despite his so-called control over the dead. Some part of his brain just wished he could wake, escape, but he realized his life was a nightmare. It was a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. No, maybe he wasn't being crushed by a giant's hand. But he was powerless. He had to do what he was doing. He was helping Gaia, still being her pawn.

Just when the pain turned everything white, he was sent into another place.

_No_, Nico cried, silently. _Just let me go, please._ Trying to wake, Nico forced his eyelids open, though the tendrils of sleep pulled him under again almost immediately.

He didn't know where he was, but it didn't matter. The only things that mattered were the voices of the two people talking, the people he knew was his father and sister.

"Hazel Levesque," his father whispered. "My child, you should know this is unnatural. You should not be living. I am defying the law of life by letting you, yet I cannot just leave you to die, as I know your destiny was unfulfilled. You died too early, my child. But it was your choice, and I could not stop you."

The voice stopped abruptly, as if it had realized it had spoken too much. Hazel replied quietly, "I know." What else could she say?

As if his father knew he was there, he continued. "Then your brother snuck you past Thanatos. Well, I was not aware of what he was doing then. But now, I realize he needed you. And so does the rest of the world. I can defy the laws of life and death, but I cannot defy destiny."

Hazel continued the conversation with silence.

"Since I can't do anything now, I have been instructed by Hera to help you. To free you from your mother's wish."

"You can't do that." Hazel's voice had a ring of sadness to it.

"Not me. But the descendant of Poseidon can."

Hazel sucked in breath, and her next words surprised Nico with the intensity of them. "Tell me something I don't know, Father! Help us, help the quest like the other gods have! My curse? It hasn't brought anything but trouble from the day I was born. Aren't you supposed to be powerful? Be able to control everything? Well, control this!"

Silence again.

When Hazel spoke again, her voice was full of regret.

"I know I shouldn't have come back. If I hadn't, maybe things would be different."

_No, _Nico thought, and was surprised to hear his father say the same thing. "No," Hades repeated. "You are part of the seven in the quest. You died once to save the world from Gaia, and it would not be respectful to you if you were left out of things now, decades later."

Hades sighed. "All we can hope for is that there is not a repeat of what happened then. Your friend Percy…well, he might become a victim of that accident. He's almost there now."

Nico's brain turned over in its haste to understand what his father was talking about. Was his father thinking the same as them? It was very likely he was, which was not a good sign. In fact, it was a very, very bad one.

Hazel had come to the same conclusions as Nico did, for the next words out of her mouth were, "Please don't let him, father."

The god shook his head. "I can't get to him in Tartarus. But the truth is the truth, and you need to know it. The Fates have predicted he will die in the hands of war. They didn't say anything other than that."

"What does that mean?" Hazel asked, her voice hushed.

"Who knows?" replied Hades. "Even the Fates were flummoxed. They said, at that moment when the thread had been cut, it had come to them."

Hands of war…that could mean anything. Percy could die in battle, in the hands of Ares, or just _now._ It was war, wasn't it?

"But…" continued Hades, but a buzz suddenly covered his ears from listening. He shook his head, trying to get rid of it, and-

"Nico! What's wrong?" asked Hazel, shaking him.

"Hazel," said Nico, finally realizing, "What did Dad say to you?"

Hazel looked confused, but there was a shifty look in her eye, one Nico didn't like. "What are you keeping from me?" he asked.

By this time, everyone had gathered around them. Hazel bit her lip, not looking anyone in the eye.

"Hazel!" Nico unexpectedly yelled, his patience going out of the window. "Isn't this important? Couldn't it be vital to our quest? What happened to _us_?"

Frank gave Nico a look of slight distaste, but said, "Nico's right, Hazel. I know you're keeping something from us. Why don't you just say?"

Her voice was barely audible when the words came.

"It was a prophecy."


	5. Chapter 5: Annabeth

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed (Guest, TheWickedMidnight, nicoo, Heroes of Olympus (for both reviews), IWontTellYou and especially Shadow-wolf-rises) or favourited/followed. Sorry I haven't updated for so long.**

**Annabeth was terrified.**

She had no idea what was happening. Her last memory was the one of her falling into Tartarus, and even that was hazy. It seemed that everything that was once important to her ceased to exist, the ties that held her to her life was being cut, one by one by one, as she was pulled down into the Underworld. The strings kept snapping when they became too tight.

Annabeth laughed silently at that thought. That should have happened when Arachne pulled her in. Why couldn't that string snap, as well? She could still feel the thin strand on spider silk on her ankle, attaching her to the monster.

All she knew, right now, was that she wanted to die. There was a voice in her head, one she knew was now her everything, that kept telling her to give up. To let everything go.

And she knew she had to. What else could she do? There was the pain of her broken ankle, which was getting worse every millisecond. Then there was everything she had experienced- none of it good. Or, at least, there was nothing good that she could remember. Why did she have to suffer, when she had done nothing wrong? Why was she born Annabeth Chase, the half-blood, the girl destined to die in hell?

It was just so unfair.

In the back of her mind, a tiny bit of her knew that Tartarus was making her bitter. This was the effect it would have on her. But this made her even madder, to know that _she_ had to be the one who would have to withstand the pain. And not even because she wanted to.

Her hands clenched into fists, and suddenly she was aware of the hand over hers. _Percy._

Just for a moment, she returned to her old self. Her goal was to defeat Gaia. To save her friends. And she was just fresh from a victory – she had avenged her mother.

But then it was gone. All she was left with was a memory of her thought- no way of actually thinking it again. She just couldn't believe so. Well, how could she? In this dark, dark place, where light was forbidden, hope was forbidden as well. Which meant her fate was sealed – she would die in Tartarus.

Yippee. She'd be another one of those so-called heroes who hadn't been able to survive. At least she'd die trying to save the world, not die…drowning in a bathtub.

The thought made her smile, remembering their first time in entering the Underworld. Despite how she'd doubted that she'd live through that, she did. Which meant she'd be able to live through this. Right?

No, it wasn't hope. But it was a possibility.

The pull was stronger now, tugging at her, ripping her apart and forcing her to leave the world above. It was even darker now, darker than she'd ever imagined anything could be. Annabeth couldn't see a thing, but she got a feeling this wasn't even the darkest Tartarus could get.

She was proved right just after that.

All the pain she'd ever experienced seemed to add up and cover her in a film. She couldn't escape it. Carrying the sky. Taking the poisoned blade. Worst of all, landing on her ankle. And all the other injuries she'd ever gotten, all rolled up in one moment.

It might have been a second, or a thousand years. But the pain paralyzed her, stopped her from screaming, from anything. She couldn't even think. At all.

Then, when Annabeth felt like she'd literally died, it melted away like the sun had come out. Except, of course, there was no sun.

_You are stronger than some, _Tartarus mused. _But I'll find a way to break in._

Annabeth felt like screaming. She wasn't even dead, yet she had to endure the torture. Besides, even if she was dead, she didn't deserve Tartarus.

When she'd finally recovered from the…feeling, she realized that it had given her sense. She wasn't going to let Tartarus torture her to death. It just wasn't worth it.

She knew that didn't seem like a very positive way of looking at things, but that was all she had. Positive had been gone in the days of her 6-year old life. It was a stranger to her, and she was a stranger to it.

Besides, she doubted anyone could look at her situation positively. Her and Percy's situation, that was.

Thinking that reminded her of him. They were still holding hands, Annabeth didn't think they had let go since they'd fallen.

"Percy," she said.

She couldn't see him, but she imagined is expression to be one of relief. He probably thought he'd died sometime earlier in the fall. Hopefully, he hadn't.

"A-Annabeth?" he said, as if remembering.

"Oh, gods. Percy - what are we going to do?" Hearing his voice made her feel like she wanted to cry; only she realized she already _was_ crying.

_As long as we're together, _she thought.

"Well," he paused. "Our plan was to go to Tartarus and close the Doors of Death. You up for it?"

"It's not like any of us can back out now," Annabeth said, dryly. Then she laughed, but it sounded wrong in the dark, cold hole.

"Seriously though…what if we don't survive this?"

Annabeth fell silent. Then, making her decision, she spoke up. "It will be fine. Trust me."

"Annabeth, about Gaia - there's going to be a sacrifice. And it's all going the right way. She planned it to be the two of us, and she wants us to, well, die, obviously, but I think-

She interrupted him. "Don't say it. Please."

Annabeth had her own suspicions about that. And now, even Seaweed Brain had figured out what was going to happen – or at least, what Gaia wanted to happen – so how could they be wrong?

Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed to be colder than it was, just a moment ago. And maybe she was wrong, but she thought she heard a familiar voice scream.

She was reluctant to tell him about the pain that she had experienced before, but she did, and Percy looked worried. "Are you alright, or is it a Tartarus thing?"

"It's trying to kill us, Percy," she whispered.

"We're not going to let it." Percy sounded almost sure.

"Hopefully," said Annabeth. There was a hint of a smile on her face. They stopped talking for a while to pay attention to their surroundings. Dark and cold were the best words to describe o her it. Still, as well. There was no wind, not even as they were falling. There was a slight pull downwards, but that wasn't what was painful. It was the rope, trying to anchor her to the surface, the thing stretching her to her limits.

Famous last words.

Annabeth was sure she heard Arachne scream, encased in her trap, and took it as a warning. Mere seconds later, they were falling. Really falling, not just the floating down it seemed they'd been doing just before. She felt like she was being pulled through a tube with shards of glass sticking through the walls. All the good feelings she had just been beginning to have disappeared right then, replaced with an all too familiar one – fear.

She began to scream, as well.

It felt like someone had flicked a switch in her, telling her pain, sadness and possibly death were on the way.

Annabeth had known a lot of people who died, some of them her friends (or, in some cases, used to be). She herself had taken part actively in defending Olympus just last year, and killed a respectable amount of monsters. She'd also been close to death many, many times. And now was one of those times.

Because the pain had started again.


	6. Chapter 6: Annabeth

**Happy New Year!**

**She woke up in the middle of chaos. **No, not Chaos. The normal, mortal chaos.

Right away, she knew: they had landed. They were in Tartarus. The land of monsters. And something was wrong. Well, something other than all the obvious things that was wrong, like actually even being in Tartarus.

Annabeth slowly opened her eyes, though she was afraid of what she might – or might not – see.

The blackness rushed towards her rapidly, making her feel dizzy and disoriented. Just as she expected, she could see nothing.

A horrible, overwhelming stench wafted up her nose. At the same time, a series of loud, high-pitched screams reached her ears.

Annabeth had never heard anything so terrible in her life. The voice was so pitiful, so full of frustration and sadness and madness, that it hurt to hear it. She never imagined such an awful noise could even be made. Just hearing it made her feel like crying, like screaming herself, even.

A low snarl appeared out of nowhere, right next to her ear. Now, she really did scream. Then she ran.

Annabeth blindingly dodged everything in her way. Her ankle was killing her, but there were only two choices left- run or die a very painful death. As she fought to keep going, even more monsters came after her. Annabeth bit her lip so hard, to stop herself from screaming, she tasted blood. Tears streamed down her face. She didn't know how she was even keeping herself ali e, but she was grateful for whatever was.

She tripped over a small, sharp object. Even though this wasn't the most sensible thing to do at that moment, she had a feeling it was crucial for her to pick it up. Annabeth did, trying to follow her instincts, since there was nothing left to follow. As she quickly scooped the object up, it left a cut on it.

Annabeth gripped the familiar handle and she knew right away that it was her weapon. Her _knife, _that she thought she'd lost.

Annabeth felt a bit of happiness in the well of all her emotions (most of them bad). With a sudden feeling of encouragement, she kept running. A little way after that, she walked into something again. Something familiar.

The Chinese Spidercuffs.

With nothing else to do and the cogs in her brain turning a million miles a minute, Annabeth slid inside, hoping the spider's horrid scent would mask her smell of human.

Inside the trap, she nearly blacked out-again. Forcing herself not to move, the noise went past.

She took a deep breath in relief, and was rewarded with a lungful of Arachne-scented air. At least it wasn't evil, psychotic, Annabeth-killing-monster-gang-scented air.

Annabeth was so _tired._ So tired she would prefer to kill herself than fight another stupid monster. In fact, she wanted to kill herself. Looking at her knife in the darkness, she started thinking about where to stab herself so if would be a quick, painless death (she was so _over_ pain right now). If she had Daedalus's laptop with her, she could figure it out. She could remember vaguely that it'd fallen into the pit as well. If she found it, though, she had no idea whether it would work. Maybe there was, like, no reception down in Tartarus.

Wondering about that distracted her from planning her suicide for a while. It also made her realize Tartarus was influencing her again.

_No. No, I can't let it control me, _she thought, shaking her head, feeling like a fog was separating her from her thoughts. She wasn't going to kill herself. Never. What would happen to the others, especially Percy, if she did that? He'd turned down immortality for her, for gods' sake. Now it was her turn to not kill herself for him. Then again, that sentence made no sense.

Then it dawned on her. Where was Percy? Or Arachne? How had she gotten out of her trap? What if- she could barely think this – the giant spider had killed Percy?

_I must me the worst girlfriend in the world_, she decided, hurriedly climbing out of the cocoon. Unthinkingly, she called, a quaver in her voice, "Percy?"

There was no reply. None.

"Percy!" she yelled, her tone much more worried this time. Annabeth started to cry again, against her will. She ran, though she didn't know how she was going to find him. Maybe she never would.

After what seemed like forever, running, trying to find him, Annabeth collapsed. And, even if she didn't want to admit it, she was having a crying jag. It would probably be better if she died, she decided. Much better.

Gods, she wished everyone else was here. Not that she wanted them to suffer like she was suffering, but with all of them, she'd feel a lot better. Especially if Percy was with her. But no, he'd probably become the stupid spider's dinner.

It seemed way too much of a cliché (Annabeth hated those_. I mean, why do those people get all the luck?_, she always thought), but at that moment, she felt like she could see a light, a warmth. And she was almost sure it was Percy, not some disgusting monster type.

She followed it, then backtracked to find the spider's trap, hoping it would mask her scent again. Annabeth had no idea how it had appeared at her side, but she hoped it was because time and space were meaningless, not that it had somehow followed her, or that she had been running around in circles.

She reached where the light seemed to be the brightest, the most warm. She reached out a hand to touch it, and felt…blood.

Seriously. Why couldn't a quest be rated G for once? Did they really need the bloodthirsty monsters, endless injuries and horrifying deaths? Or the stupid obstacles that seemed to appear as if she was in some sort of horsey race thing? Oh look, jump over that giant monster. Wait, go around those scary mountains because that's where the Canadians live. Whee. Isn't this fun?

Ok. She was sounding extremely stupid. But at least she wasn't entertaining herself with thoughts of suicide.

Annabeth touched his arm, where the blood seemed to be the most prominent. She could feel a cut. It wasn't that deep, but she immediately panicked.

"Percy," she sobbed.

"Wise Girl?" Percy said, weakly.

She felt like she hadn't heard his voice in years.

"What happened? Gods, are you alright? Arachne escaped, she's here somewhere, but-anyway, what did you do, Percy?"

Annabeth imagined him frowning. "I-I can't remember, Annabeth."

"What are you talking about?" Even she could hear the fear in her own voice.

"I don't know."

There was silence. Then, suddenly, laughter. Not hers. Or his. Someone else.

Gaia.

As soon as she got the chance, Annabeth wanted to freaking torture that woman. Hopefully, she'd get to kill her some day.

Right now, though, all she had to do was get Percy to somewhere safe.


	7. Chapter 7: Annabeth (unfinished)

**OK, let me break the news: this story will no longer be continued. I'm really sorry, but here is half of chapter 7, and I'm posting the notes as to what happens. Thank you Greekhero for you review! **

**They were back in the stupid spider trap. **Hooray.

Annabeth didn't feel in control of anything, and all things seemed to be doing was getting worse. How long had she been here, what was happening to her and Percy, and most importantly, how was she going to get to the Doors of Death? She had no plans, despite how Athena was always supposed to, and that meant – well, it meant that nothing was going well.

And it was so _dark._ How were they supposed to be able to do anything, in this black, endless pit? Honestly, Annabeth wouldn't be surprised if she took one step forwards and fell into an even deeper hole. Oh, and broke her neck on the way, therefore killing herself.

She suddenly remembered Anaklusmos. Percy's sword. Could that, perhaps, be a source of light? Unlikely, but she could try…

Slipping her hand in Percy's pocket, she uncapped the pen. Nothing. And, even worse, it didn't even seem to grow into the familiar sword. Her heart dropped.

Oh, this was _bad._ Holy Hera, there was no way they were ever going to go anywhere. Not in this position.

_Stop thinking like that,_ Annabeth scolded herself. _There is always a way, for those clever enough to find it._ Her mother often said that.

At least she wasn't feeling so…imprisoned. That, or she was getting used to it. Was it her imagination, or was Tartarus letting her go?

Her ankle, though, wasn't getting any better. In fact, she suspected it was getting worse. Her backpack and supplies were nowhere to be found, and, even if she could find them, she wasn't sure ambrosia, even a large amount, would do anything to help her in this place where everything good seemed to be nonexistent.

Percy had blacked out as soon as they had gotten to their hiding place. Now, the blood was still flowing from his wound, and impossible to staunch. If this kept up, he could die from the loss of blood. She couldn't let that happen.

But what could she do? Find help? Most, if not all the creatures in Tartarus were working for Gaia. And there was Arachne, seeking her revenge, to think of.

Maybe...maybe she could trick someone into helping her? But how? Everyone was too busy being punished, and all that. The monsters that Gaia sent to guard Tartarus and the Doors of Death wouldn't be convinced easily, and besides, they were probably the ones who'd tried to kill her just before.

Gods, she wished Percy was awake. But she didn't want to risk it, if he woke up, he would, possibly, get even worse.

So it was all up to her.

Annabeth decided her best chance was to find Arachne and somehow, trick her into taking them to the Doors of Death. There, they could get Percy into the world of the living. She wasn't as worried for herself. After all, she had never heard of anyone dying of a broken ankle. Except…how would they close the Doors then? Did they have to be closed from both sides? Annabeth, sadly, suspected so. Why else would everyone have acted so upset? Well, even more upset than they would usually be. And if it had to be done that way, being closed from _both _sides, someone would have to stay in Tartarus. Forever, probably.

She knew that person would be her. It had to be. After all, she couldn't let anyone else suffer – she was near dead now, anyway.

But first, she needed to get to Arachne. The monster would not trust her, not unless she told the truth. She had tricked it once before, and now it would be even more wary of her words. Except…there was no other way. So find Arachne she would do.

She couldn't leave Percy alone, though. Which meant she would need to wake him. Cutting a piece of fabric from her Camp Half-Blood shirt, she carefully wrapped it tightly around his arm. Annabeth didn't think this would really help at all, but it _was_ first aid.

She thought about Camp Half-Blood. Would it be ruins now, destroyed by the angry Romans? Would they still be fighting? Too bad she would never find out, she'd be left to rot in Tartarus.

Gently, she tapped Percy on the shoulder, though she knew it wouldn't wake him. It was just for old times' sake, she remembered doing the same thing when he first arrived at camp. Smiling out of the corner of her mouth, she wondered if he was drooling. She shook him again, harder. "Seaweed Brain! Wake up!" she whispered, afraid to speak any louder than that.

He sat up straight away. "Where am I?" he said, fumbling for his sword.

"Shh!" Annabeth hurried to quiet him. "We're hiding in the spider trap!"

"Oh. That explains the bad smell," he said.

"We need to get out of here," said Annabeth, urgently. "How do you feel?"

Percy swallowed. "Fine," he replied, although Annabeth wasn't sure he was. Still, they had no choice but to keep moving. She told him about how they were going to find Arachne and try to get her to help them, and Percy agreed to her plan.


	8. THE END (storyline in notes)

**Here are the notes:**

Rachel and Chiron contact to tell them the Romans are going to attack, and they need help, fast, or both camps will die fighting themselves. Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth are still falling into Tartarus.

The 6 and Nico must detour back to Camp Half-Blood.

Jason has a dream about an exchange between Gaia and Octavian, and now knows that the Gaia is controlling the Romans through him so it will eventually lead to their own destruction.

They get to camp, and Chiron decides no matter what they do, the Romans will still attack.

Nico comes up with a plan to do with the Athena Parthenos, thinking it will distract the Romans and stop the feud as the legend goes, or at least let them kill Octavian or talk to Reyna.

Rachel gets a vision and prophecy:

_The fallen will be forced to fly_

_All may be lost at the battle cry_

_The earth depends on the fatal flaw_

_And she herself will close the doors_

**(I know it's not that, like, mysterious and stuff. But it rhymes!)**

Percy and Annabeth arrive in Tartarus, 3 days early, courtesy of Gaia (**this has happened already in the story)**

They manage to survive for one, when Annabeth tries to get Arachne's help, but after that Annabeth blacks out for 2 days.

When Annabeth is conscious again, she is mentally unstable as a result of exhaustion and the mind games in Tartarus. However, she realizes she is no longer in Tartarus, and neither is Percy, but instead in some sacred place in mythology **(which I didn't research).**

A giant (**sorry, I didn't know which) **says they are going to be sacrificed to Gaia.

It tortures Annabeth until Percy willingly gives in to save her, saying he will be sacrificed to Gaia if Annabeth is left alone. They swear on the river Styx. **(Percy's fatal flaw. See?)**

Back at Camp Half-Blood, the plan goes well. They manage to imprison Octavian, and the Romans and Greeks finally unite for the first time in centuries. However, the Argo II is destroyed in battle. **(I'm not sure about this)**. It is Day 8.

They have to assist a plane to travel to Epirus, with a small army in tow, and when they get to the House of Hades, a mysterious being is there. Nico feels that the being is very familiar **(have you guys guessed what it is? Not that hard).**

He sends Nico on a quest to find a random escaped soul **(I don't know which. You can choose), **saying that if he is successful, he will help them close the Doors and help Percy and Annabeth. Since they still think the two are falling, they quickly agree.

**(This is Nico's quest, which I don't know what happens in. My idea of the ending was a bit blurry).**

When Nico succeeds in bringing back the soul, the thing says it wants Hazel, because she too is an escaped soul. They don't let it take Hazel, but manage find out that Percy and Annabeth are no longer in Tartarus.

Nico realizes the being is indeed Tartarus, and they fight but Tartarus is outnumbered, so they manage to imprison Tartarus with the help of Athena/Minerva, who wants them to help her daughter **(she has now recovered from her…er, breakdown since the Greeks and Romans have united because of the Athena Parthenos)**

Percy is about to be sacrificed to Gaia when the 6 and Nico turn up.

They kill the giant **(this time it is Poseidon who helps them and sends a tsunami to sweep it out to sea or something) **and rescue Percy and Annabeth, who are both in very bad shape.

All of them flee from the place, back to Epirus to finally close the doors, but they have no idea how.

They bargain with Tartarus and he agrees to close the doors for themfrom the other side, and though no one trusts him they must.

The Doors are closed.

Gaia speaks to them, telling them that it is all part of her plan that this happens.

The 7 are reunited but left with many questions and still need to fully defeat Gaia, but Annabeth and Percy are in terrible condition.

THE END.

**The Prophecy**

_The fallen will be forced to fly_ (Percy and Annabeth are the fallen, they are being forced to leave Tartarus despite how they haven't closed the doors, to be sacrifices for Gaia)

_All may be lost at the battle cry_ (The Romans against the Greeks, the Romans have started a battle and Octavion is convinced joining Gaia is better as then they would we safe (he was sent a vision by some old god on Gaia's side), if the six don't get to Camp Half-Blood and stop them in time and the Romans win the battle, the Romans will join the Greeks and destroy camp. Gaia is convinced the Greeks will not win because they are outnumbered, most likely they will fight each other to death).

_The earth depends on the fatal flaw _(Gaia depends on Percy's loyalty to his friends to be her sacrifice)

_And she herself will close the doors_. (Gaia acted through Tartarus to close the doors)

**Author notes:**

**A little explanation on the story front: the other POV was to be Jason, and the reason Tartarus wanted Hazel was so she could be Gaia's sacrifice (in case you haven't figured that out already).**

**OK. That's it guys. I'm sorry I didn't end the story (I barely got started) and I know the story went really weird in Annabeth's POV. Also, parts of it don't make sense.**

**Thank you for all your reviews, follows, favourites and views!**

**Planetgirl.**


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